Federal Way will have new voices in the state House of Representatives come January, assuming Tuesday night’s vote count holds, with Democrats Mike Pellicciotti and Kristine Reeves poised to unseat incumbent Republican Reps. Linda Kochmar and Teri Hickel.
As of about 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Pellicciotti led Kochmar by around 3,000 votes, or 55.2 percent to Kochmar’s 44.8 percent, in the race for Legislative District 30, Position 1. Reeves was defeating Hickel by about 1,300 votes, or 52.1 to 47.9 percent, in the D-30, Pos. 2 race.
“It feels really good,” Reeves said Tuesday night. “I think, more than anything, we’ve worked super hard for this. We had a great team of people, and I think what this says is that folks in our community are ready to send a working mom to go fight for working families in Olympia.”
Pellicciotti acknowledged that votes were still being counted, but he was cautiously optimistic.
“It feels great,” he said. “I’ll wait to see the final numbers, but look: It’s an indication of a lot of hard work by a lot of folks in our campaign, and I’m just really encouraged by these early results.”
Reeves expressed her own restrained celebration, saying, “Obviously, it’s not over until it’s over. But let’s just say I think it’s clear in the results tonight that the voter — I think the voters have spoken about what kind of legislator they want and what kind of leader they want in Olympia fighting for them.”
Reeves said her top legislative priorities would be education, transportation and economic development. Pellicciotti said he would focus on airplane noise, issues related to Weyerhaeuser campus, public safety and education funding.
The results end Kochmar’s legislative role after two terms, and the longtime Federal Way elected official expressed gratitude and a desire to stay involved in the community.
“It was an honor to run for re-election,” she said. “It was an honor to serve the fantastic people of this district. This is home. I will always continue to advocate for this district, for the city of Federal Way and for King County. This will always be my home.
“You can’t always win. But for all those who supported me, knocked on doors for me, voted for me, I thank you. We fought very hard. I hope people remember everything we accomplished together here in the 30th District.”
Hickel echoed those sentiments.
“I love this city, this community, this district,” she said. “I’ve lived and worked in this community for a long time. I’ve had the privilege to serve this community for a long time. That won’t change. I will continue to do that in any way I can.
“I’m so very proud of all those who helped on my campaign. I could not have made it this far without the help of my campaign manager and all of you who helped knock on doors and held signs.”
Washington state’s next legislative session starts next year on Jan. 9. With D-30’s switch to Democratic representation and considering the preliminary results of other House races around the state, the state House of Representatives will have an increased Democratic majority with a 51-47 split. In the state Senate, meanwhile, Republicans will maintain control with a 25-24 majority caucus (one Democratic senator caucuses with Republicans).
Vote-counting will continue this week and is expected to be mostly complete by the end of the day on Friday. Election results must be certified by Nov. 29.
